Ferrari 'forced' to go green

Ferrari boss Amedeo Felisa caught up with Autocar's Jim Holder at the recent Beijing motor show to discuss when we can expect to see a Ferrari hybrid and what the future holds for the technology.

What has customer reaction been to the hybrid 599 concept?

We created the concept to demonstrate that a hybrid future is possible for Ferrari. We have a way to go in that direction, but our customers can now see that we can leverage that technology without compromising the characteristics of our cars.

Has the concept of a ‘green’ Ferrari scared off any customers?

Our customers are looking for the essence of Ferrari — the emotion, the performance, the technology and so on. The way in which we fix emissions is not their problem but ours. If we are not able to fix it, only then will it become a problem for them.

When will Ferrari’s first hybrid go on sale?

In 2015, if we are forced to by the [government] regulations. The issue of emissions for Ferrari is more a political one than real one. Lowering emissions of every Ferrari will not save the planet, but it will cost us a lot of money

Are there any other ways to make big emission cuts?

Looking ahead 10 to 15 years, hybrid is the only technology we can try to develop. In the next five to 10 years, hybrid technology will develop and maybe something else will come up. Maybe it’ll be hydrogen, but for our cars only hybrid is ready.

Will every Ferrari be a hybrid eventually?

At the moment, the regulations are asking us to reduce average fleet emissions, so I am not sure we will need to use it everywhere. For now, we will get the technology ready so that it can be applied to every Ferrari. Whether we will use it… we will see.

regardless of whether the rules are daft or not (and when you factor in the low mileages of most Ferraris... ) I think it's disappointing hearing a company famed for its engineering taking this attitude. Sure, I want to be able to drive a V12 Ferrari some day... and it will probably be 50 years before I can afford to. But I'd prefer them to be looking at how they can best use new technologies to enhance the driving experience and continue to provide the ultimate road cars.
EU rules or not, I think its not realistic to think that rules aren't going to get tougher in years to come.

Ferrari aren't exactly making cars in a shed at the bottom of the garden, what their trying to say is we were making it sound like our model range was customer driven, but really we were going to do it anyway because we couldn't let our compeditors get ahead of us, same old hoop lah from Ferrari as usual.